Why North Korea worries Dick Cheney

By Ruben Navarrette, CNN Contributor

Updated 5:44 AM ET, Fri April 12, 2013

Kim Jong Un and North Korea's military50 photos

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, North Korea, in this photo released February 19 by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

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A picture released by the North Korean Central News Agency shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un appearing without his cane at an event with military commanders in Pyongyang on Tuesday, November 4. Kim, who recently disappeared from public view for about six weeks, had a cyst removed from his right ankle, a lawmaker told CNN.

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Kim is seen walking with a cane in this image released Thursday, October 30, by the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

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Kim sits in the pilot's seat of a fighter jet during the inspection.

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This undated photo, released Tuesday, October 14, by the KCNA, shows Kim inspecting a housing complex in Pyongyang, North Korea. International speculation about Kim went into overdrive after he failed to attend events on Friday, October 10, the 65th anniversary of the Workers' Party. He hadn't been seen in public since he reportedly attended a concert with his wife on September 3.

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A picture released by the KCNA shows Kim and his wife watching a performance by the Moranbong Band on Wednesday, September 3, in Pyongyang.

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Kim tours a front-line military unit in this image released Wednesday, July 16, by the KCNA.

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Kim poses for a photo as he oversees a tactical rocket-firing drill in June.

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Kim watches a tactical rocket-firing drill in June.

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A North Korean soldier patrols the bank of the Yalu River, which separates the North Korean town of Sinuiju from the Chinese border town of Dandong, on Saturday, April 26.

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In this photo released Thursday, April 24, by the Korean Central News Agency, Kim smiles with female soldiers after inspecting a rocket-launching drill at an undisclosed location.

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A picture released Tuesday, March 18, by the KCNA shows Kim attending a shooting practice at a military academy in Pyongyang.

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A North Korean soldier uses binoculars on Thursday, February 6, to look at South Korea from the border village of Panmunjom, which has separated the two Koreas since the Korean War.

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A North Korean soldier kicks a pole along the banks of the Yalu River on Tuesday, February 4.

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A photo released by the KCNA on Thursday, January 23, shows the North Korean leader inspecting an army unit during a winter drill.

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Kim inspects the command of an army unit in this undated photo released Sunday, January 12, by the KCNA.

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Kim visits an army unit in this undated photo.

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Kim inspects a military factory in this undated picture released by the KCNA in May 2013.

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Kim visits the Ministry of People's Security in 2013 as part of the country's May Day celebrations.

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A North Korean soldier, near Sinuiju, gestures to stop photographers from taking photos in April 2013.

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North Korean soldiers patrol near the Yalu River in April 2013.

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Kim is briefed by his generals in this undated photo. On the wall is a map titled "Plan for the strategic forces to target mainland U.S."

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Kim works during a briefing in this undated photo.

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In this KCNA photo, Kim inspects naval drills at an undisclosed location on North Korea's east coast in March 2013.

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Kim, with North Korean soldiers, makes his way to an observation post in March 2013.

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Kim uses a pair of binoculars to look south from the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment, near South Korea's Taeyonphyong Island, in March 2013.

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Kim is greeted by a soldier's family as he inspects the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment in March 2013.

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Kim is surrounded by soldiers during a visit to the Mu Islet Hero Defense Detachment, also near Taeyonphyong Island, in March 2013.

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Kim arrives at Jangjae Islet by boat to meet with soldiers of the Jangjae Islet Defense Detachment in March 2013.

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Soldiers in the North Korean army train at an undisclosed location in March 2013.

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In a photo released by the official North Korean news agency in December 2012, Kim celebrates a rocket's launch with staff from the satellite control center in Pyongyang.

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Kim, center, poses in this undated picture released by North Korea's official news agency in November 2012.

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Kim visits the Rungna People's Pleasure Ground, under construction in Pyongyang, in a photo released in July 2012 by the KCNA.

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A crowd watches as statues of North Korean founder Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il are unveiled during a ceremony in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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A North Korean soldier stands guard in front of an UNHA III rocket at the Tangachai-ri Space Center in April 2012.

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In April 2012, Pyongyang launched a long-range rocket that broke apart and fell into the sea. Here, the UNHA III rocket is pictured on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.

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– A closer look at the UNHA III rocket on its launch pad in Tang Chung Ri, North Korea.

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A military vehicle participates in a parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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North Korean soldiers relax at the end of an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Kim Jong Un applauds as he watches a military parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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A North Korean soldier stands on a balcony in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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North Korean soldiers march during a military parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Soldiers board a bus outside a theater in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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North Korean performers sit below a screen showing images of leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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North Korean soldiers salute during a military parade in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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North Korean soldiers listen to a speech during an official ceremony attended by leader Kim Jong Un at a stadium in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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Members of a North Korean military band gather following an official ceremony at the Kim Il Sung stadium in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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North Korean military personnel watch a performance in Pyongyang in April 2012.

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A North Korean controller is seen along the railway line between the Pyongyang and North Pyongan provinces in April 2012.

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A North Korean military honor guard stands at attention at Pyongyang's airport in May 2001.

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Story highlights

Dick Cheney gave GOP lawmakers a blunt assessment of N. Korean crisis

Ruben Navarrette says those who live on the U.S. west coast are particularly concerned

He says the fear is that Kim Jong Un backs himself into a corner

You know a global scenario is serious when even Darth Vader seems scared.

Developments in and around North Korea are so worrisome that they appear to have frightened Dick Cheney. The 72-year-old former vice president stopped by to visit with GOP lawmakers Tuesday and wound up talking about unpredictable, and perhaps unstable, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. According to sources present at the meeting, Cheney offered this blunt assessment of the crisis in the Korean peninsula: "We're in deep doo doo."

Oh, that's just terrific. It's spring, and the cherry blossoms are in full bloom in the nation's capital. And so naturally our thoughts turn to... the threat of thermonuclear war?

We interrupt the politically driven debates in Washington over gun control and immigration control to bring you an important message about a world leader who may be out-of-control.

Ruben Navarrette Jr.

Welcome to the North Korean missile crisis. subtitled: The Missiles of April.

It's time to think the unthinkable. In fact, if you live in Hawaii, Guam, the Pacific Islands or, as I do, on the West Coast of the United States -- or, for that matter, anywhere else within range of this bad neighborhood -- it's probably long past time.

"The Obama administration now calculates it is likely North Korea may test fire mobile ballistic missiles at any time based on the most recent U.S. intelligence showing it is likely the North Koreans have completed all launch preparations."

And this:

The official confirmed that U.S. satellites are monitoring the Korean peninsula and 'the belief is that the missiles have received their liquid fuel and are ready for launch.'"

"Countries in northeast Asia remained on edge Wednesday amid warnings from U.S. and South Korean officials that North Korea could carry out a missile test at any time."

Japan has deployed missile defense systems around Tokyo, some Chinese tour groups have canceled visits to North Korea and U.S. radars and satellites are trained on an area of the Korean east coast where Kim Jong Un's regime is believed to have prepared mobile ballistic missiles for a possible test launch.

South Korea concerned about threats?

Just Watched

Is N. Korea a nuclear threat or not?

Adm. Samuel J. Locklear, commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, didn't mince words when -- in remarks at a Senate Armed Services hearing this week -- he characterized the crisis as "a clear and direct threat to U.S. national security and regional peace and stability."

OK, Pyongyang, you have America's attention -- and, for that matter, the world's. What are you going to do now? Think very carefully about how you answer that question.

It seems that there is not much that U.S. leaders can do now but wait for Kim Jong Un to make the next move. But that's a high-stakes game, since he seems to be running out of moves that don't involve a missile launch. As experts on the region have been saying all week, perhaps the most worrisome aspect of this crisis is that the North Korean leader doesn't appear to have left himself an exit door.

If, after all this huffing and puffing and rattling of missiles, Kim Jong Un simply backs down and goes back to fiddling with his Play Station and making vacation plans with Dennis Rodman, could his own military see that as a sign of weakness and stage a coup? And so, the 30-year-old despot may feel as if he has no choice but to finish the game.

Given the volatility of the situation, President Obama and his security team have to be ready -- in the event of a missile launch -- to immediately respond forcefully. A clear and unequivocal message that goes beyond diplomacy would have to be sent. The response has to leave no doubt that this administration isn't playing games -- and that it means business.

That was the message that the heroic members of Seal Team 6 delivered in tracking down and killing Osama bin Laden in Pakistan last year. Obama's liberal base was overjoyed at the use of military force in dispatching bin Laden to the other world just before a presidential election. How could it object in this case, when once again Americans -- and our allies -- are being threatened?

That's the question. If there's an answer, let's hear it. And for the sake of those of us who are closest to the doo doo, let's hope we hear it soon.